


For Thieves

by Thirstyforpopculture



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Treasure Hunting, Useless Lesbians, gals bein pals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:48:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22155808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thirstyforpopculture/pseuds/Thirstyforpopculture
Summary: A thick dossier drops onto the wood floor beside Nadine Ross’s cross legged form. She looks up from her box of Chinese take-out, startled.“How in hell did you get into my flat?”
Relationships: Chloe Frazer/Nadine Ross
Comments: 22
Kudos: 164





	1. Chapter 1

A thick dossier drops onto the wood floor beside Nadine Ross’s cross legged form. She looks up from her box of Chinese take-out, startled.

“How in hell did you get into my flat?”

“Have you ever been to Egypt?” Chloe asks, dropping her backpack with a heavy thunk.

Nadine splutters. Chloe snatches the box from her hands. “What?” Is all she can manage. Her sleep deprived brain is staggering to catch up.

“Egypt. Ever been?” Her partner repeats, now making a grab for her chopsticks.

“No!” Nadine says, pulling the utensils out of reach and pawing after her stolen dinner. “How did you get in here?” She repeats. She’s only just moved in. There’s no furniture to speak of, save for the mattress in the corner of the master bedroom and a dresser purchased from the flea market a few blocks over. Her billing address hasn’t even been changed yet.

Chloe, nonchalantly states, “You keep your guest bedroom window open.” And simply tips a bite of food out of the container and into her open mouth. She nudges the manilla folder over to Nadine eagerly. “Aren’t you going to read it, China? I really did my research this time.”

Nadine gapes, momentarily giving up her struggle to reclaim the little white box. “I live on the _twelfth floor!_ ”

“It’s a lovely view.” Chloe says, nodding sagely as if in agreement.

Nadine finally manages to get the container of food back, but not until after two rather large bites have been pilfered from it. _Eish_ , what was she thinking partnering up with a thief? It’s been months now, that they’ve been going on jobs together. Surprisingly, boosting artifacts from museums and selling them back to their native cultures, and photographing hard-to-reach ruins for magazines or TV shows have been the most lucrative so far. They haven’t had any honest-to-god treasure hunting jobs since the Tusk fiasco. Regardless, it’s the most fun Nadine’s ever had in her life. The adrenaline is second to none and the travel is, as Chloe had stated, definitely a bonus.

Chloe stands and stretches when she decides the meager meal isn’t worth the effort. She dusts off her arse and the backs of her legs and waltzes away through Nadine’s place, seemingly already feeling quite at home. “Hey Nadine?” She calls out from the direction of the woman’s bedroom, “Mind if I take a shower? I’m covered in airport grime.”

With a sigh, the South African pinches the bridge of her nose. A fierce ache is making its home between her eyes and suddenly she’s less tired and more terribly exhausted. She admits to herself that in the three weeks they’ve been apart she’s missed Chloe. It’s hard to sleep without knowing there’s someone to watch her back. Without the energy to be indignant any longer she simply calls back, “Towels are in the cabinet above the toilet.” before opening the file and setting to work.

Admittedly, she’s very impressed. It’s packed to the brim with maps, hastily jotted notes and coordinates in Chloe’s familiar chicken-scratch, and very old looking journal entries seemingly from a photocopier. Nadine can pick out the few key phrases, “Thinis”, “Book of the Dead” and “private collector”. By the time Chloe comes back out, her eyes ache and her head is swimming with new information.

“You look awful, Love. When’s the last time you got some sleep?”

Nadine turns to make a sharp reply but the words die in her mouth. Chloe’s toned, golden brown legs against the white towel and her inky black hair clinging to her damp neck is an image that’s going to be kicking around in her skull for a while.

She turns her face away.

 _“Frazer!”_ She borderline snarls, hoping her hot blush is hidden by the darkness both in the room and in her skin tone. Chloe snickers, seemingly unaffected.

“What? Left my bag out here.” She says, picking it up by the topmost handle and waving it back and forth as if in show.

She turns around and plods deeper into the flat. Nadine figures she must only be behind the bedroom door, not all the way in bathroom. She can hear her clothes rustling and her voice is louder when she calls out again. “What do you say, China? Are you in?”

“Ja, ja I’m in. Why couldn’t you have just sent me an email?” She’s still rubbing the bridge of her nose.

“Because Sully is set to pick us up in two days.” Chloe says. She walks back into the living room in a red camisole and black sleep shorts. It’s almost worse than just the towel, which is slung around her neck. Nadine scoffs. “What would you have done if I’d said I wasn’t in?”

“Crashed here and then left without you.” Chloe teases, wringing out her hair. She chuckles at Nadine’s disapproving glance before raising her hands in surrender and muttering out,“I would’ve let you pick the next job.”

“That’s not still an option?” Nadine whines. She _never_ gets to pick jobs.

 _“It’s another control thing.”_ Chloe had admitted some months earlier.

The sable haired treasure hunter offers her a consolation prize. “Next time, okay?”

“Okay.” Nadine grumbles. She gives Chloe the last few bites of her food. Her partner beams at her. The beauty of it makes her heart twist. Chloe wolfs down the remainder of the rice and sauce before giving a luxurious yawn and stretch.

“Now,” she says, grinning like a cat, “what’s the sleeping arrangement?”


	2. Chapter 2

Chloe can’t help but feel as if she’s won something, basking in the warmth of her bare legs tangled in Nadine’s. The mercenary hums contentedly in her sleep, pulling Chloe’s arm more tightly around herself. The thief feels like a human blanket.

She delights in the fact that Nadine Ross likes to be little spoon. If she were sure it wouldn’t wake her partner she’d cackle with unbridled glee. The train of thought leaves her soon, though. This pillow is very soft and the tip of her nose is pushed up against the back of Nadine’s warm neck. She’s very comfortable, and very, very tired.

But despite having been on two twelve hour flights in three days, having had her nose crammed into some book or another for several weeks, and spending the late hours of the night (er, technically speaking, the early hours of the morning) straining her eyes on her laptop screen for just as long, she can’t sleep.

A friend of her late father had passed away and left the journal detailing the remnants of the city and its contents to the one and only Chloe Frazer. He had a daughter, or so she’d thought. Why hadn’t he left it to her? Did he want to keep her out of the treasure hunting business? There was no mention of her own father anywhere in the journal, so she couldn’t be sure if he’d had anything to do with this expedition. The Tusk had consumed him so thoroughly she’d never even considered that there could be other jobs he’d left behind. She wondered after it for several moments. Wondered if she should ask Nadine what she thought about it.

She’s even considered asking Sam his opinion. His mother had instilled a love of adventure into her boys before her death, according to Nathan. How would he feel if some long lost pal of hers suddenly dumped a gold mine of information on him without even the courtesy of staying alive long enough to explain why? Would he feel just as lost as she does, after seemingly carrying out her legacy only to discover more of it? More importantly, would it wound his ego that his greatest feats were accomplished on her coattails?

Her aching mind rolls over the facts again and again. Coordinates she can recite in her sleep, passage after passage in book after book. Journal entries scoured over enough times to make her feel like she was losing her bloody mind. A little stone pyramid with a glass rod core sits at the bottom of her backpack. She’s studied it, fiddled with it, tried to solve it dozens of times now to no avail. According to the journal, it’s a key.

A key to bloody what, exactly? Chloe has no clue. As much as she’s presented the idea to Nadine as being well thought out and perfectly planned, she still feels like she’s going in blind. The only location she has is a gate at the very edge of the city, supposedly an entrance. Entrances could go on for miles. And even when it did spit them out into the city, who was to say where the book was? It could take months of excavation to find the damn thing.

Her professedly endless circling in self doubt and nihilism is interrupted when Nadine rolls over with a sleepy, “mmph.” and borrows her face into Chloe’s collarbones.

The treasure hunter sighs, sliding her arm under Nadine’s neck to support her head. She’s gorgeous asleep. Her usually stern face is soft, and open. Her lips are parted and every breath ends with a little rasp that speaks of a slightly stuffy nose. She’s missed her partner terribly over the weeks she’s spent researching alone in her London flat. Pouring over endless tomes is less agonizing with the rustle of another person’s background noise. She smiles and sets her chin on top of the other woman’s head.

It’s about time she gets some bloody sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A groan leaves her as she sits up. This happens every morning, to her chagrin. Being early to bed and to rise had never been a part of military life that had suited Nadine. She rolls her shoulders and cranes her neck from side to side hoping to elicit a pop or two. She gives up after her third rotation and lays back flat on her back.

Her sheets still smell like Chloe, even if the treasure hunter has been gone long enough that her side of the bed is cold. Subconsciously, she turns her face into the pillow and inhales, soothed. Chloe Frazer seems to come and go from any one location as she pleases, so Nadine isn’t necessarily concerned about her seemingly missing partner. Annoyed, maybe. She could have at least left a note.

She groans again after sparing a look at her cell phone. It’s nearly eight o’clock, and very bright outside. The light streaming through her curtain-less window was probably what had awoken her.

She trudges to the pull-up bar wedged into the kitchen archway. After a brief moment of consideration she hooks her knees over it for some suspended sit ups. Her legs could use some work, she thinks. She’s on her second set when Chloe bursts back in, through the front door this time. She’s got two large brown bags that smell suspiciously of fried food. Nadine drops from the bar like a woman starved and leans onto the island.

“Where did you go?”

“For necessities. You’re looking delightfully shimmery this morning, China.” The older woman reaches across the counter to very gently wipe sweat from Nadine’s upper lip. The mercenary blanches.

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” Chloe says with a smile, pushing a styrofoam tray of food toward her. Nadine happily accepts the plastic fork offered to her. After her first bite she looks up at Chloe with what she hopes isn’t enough adoration to give the thief a big head. “What’s the plan for today?” she asks as she chews.

Chloe shrugs. “R and R, really. Victor is set to pick us up late tomorrow.”

“Is Drake with him?”

She’s developed an odd sense of camaraderie with the elder brother. If anyone’d told her a year ago that she’d willingly board a plane with Sam Drake she’d laugh. Or break some fingers. Or laugh while breaking some fingers.

Chloe shrugs again. “Is Sam ever not with him?”  
  
“When he’s with us.” Nadine says blandly, taking another hefty bite. Chloe chuckles.

Nadine doesn’t like the sound of that.

“The two of you have been getting along.” Chloe says innocently, stirring her own food with intense interest. Nadine knows a probe when she sees one.

“Ja. I guess.”

“You guess?” Grey eyes come up to scrutinize her. She fights a shudder. “Ja.” She repeats, sounding breathy to her own ears. She blushes.

“Any idea why?”

“Geen.” She blurts. _Eish,_ she’s a terrible liar. 

“No?”

“No.” She agrees. Oh, she’s really stepped in it now. The moment Chloe decides she wants to know something, she learns about it. Nadine swallows thickly, feeling apprehensive.  
  


If Chloe were to find out what exactly her and Sam had bonded over, it could ruin their partnership. Nadine would rather die. The taller of the two lifts an ebony eyebrow, “He likes you.” she states.

The mercenary fights a grimace. “We’re...colleagues.” She manages. Chloe’s grin grows. _Eish_.

“Colleagues? Is that all?” 

Nadine groans. “ _Eish_ , you’re joking, right Frazer?”

Chloe lifts her hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying. You’ve been...friendly.”

“Not wanting to kill him doesn’t mean I’d shag him.” Nadine states. The idea makes her feel ill. “I’m not looking for a man.” she adds, feeling defensive.

“Typically you aren’t _looking_ when they find you.” Chloe says, swaying her fork back and forth with great wisdom.

Nadine suddenly can’t hide at least this part of her secret anymore. “No, Frazer, I’m not looking for a _man_.”

Chloe blinks owlishly for a second. And then another. Realization dawns and she gets that dangerous grin.

“Oh?”

 _Eish_. Nadine cringes. Her face feels hot.

When she doesn’t continue, Chloe says, “You don’t usually find women in this line of work.” sounding flippant. Nadine dares a look up at her.

“You don’t.” she agrees. Her throat is so tight it hurts. She stands and closes her box, stuffing it hastily in the fridge. She very badly wants to escape this conversation. She’s uncomfortably aware of Chloe’s eyes on her back. She stuffs her earbuds back in. They make eye contact as Nadine hoists herself onto the bar by her hands and starts to haul her chin over. She closes her eyes as if in exertion.

Chloe is gone when she opens them again.


	4. Chapter 4

Oh, she’d _really_ cocked that up, hadn’t she? Nadine, the woman whose bed she had  very  recently slept in, had just come stumbling out of the closet and what had she done?

Not a _goddamn thing!_

Oh sure, flirting is easy. She flirts all the time. Mostly with Nadine, certainly, but with Sam or Sully (and Elena too, now that she thinks about it). But flirting with  feelings  involved? Christ, no. She rubs her temples, cross legged on the living room floor as she had been the night before. The little pyramid is on the floor in front of her, abandoned for now. Feelings, puzzles, death, and several weeks of restless nights have begun to take a toll on her mental state.

“What’s that?” A South African lilt intones from behind her. She jumps.  _ Jesus _ she needs to get her shit together.

“Supposed to be a key.” She says casually, trying to pretend she hadn’t just momentarily vacated her skin in fright.

“A key? A key to what?”

“No bloody idea.” She says flatly. She hates to admit when she’s stumped. Nadine holds out her calloused palm, and Chloe hands it over with a little pout.

_ “What? It looked like a button.”  _ She remembers. It almost makes her smile.

The mercenary rolls the little stone statue around her hands, even closing one eye and looking down the length of the center glass rod like a telescope. She squints, and then walks toward the window for more light. She inspects it for several moments, turning it this way and that in her hands. As far as Chloe knows, Nadine doesn’t understand hieroglyphics. The mercenary shrugs in defeat, holding it out for Chloe to reclaim.

The treasure hunter’s eyes nearly bug out of her skull. “Wait! Don’t move!”

“Huh?”

She tears across the room, stopping short just shy of Nadine’s outstretched palm. “The light! Look at the light!” She points, clapping a hand onto the meat of one of those exquisite trapezius muscles as she does so.

The light from the window is shining through the rod, casting a faint shadow across the floor. Chloe could howl with excitement. “It’s a map!” She cries, skipping across the apartment. “Stay right there!”

“Roger that.” Nadine calls after her, sounding distinctly amused. Chloe slides back into the room in her socked feet, slapping one of the paper bags from breakfast down on the floor. She glides it below the cast shadow from the prism and begins to trace, black pen scratching diligently along the lines. She’s grinning so hard it hurts.

“You seriously didn’t think to hold it up to light?” Nadine asks, sounding incredulous. Chloe shrugs as she traces.

“I like my flat dark. I get headaches.” She says, yanking the cap off the end of the pen with her teeth and popping it back on.

She retreats to the far corner where Nadine had spread everything out hours ago and starts shuffling excitedly through papers. She pulls a long cardboard tube from her backpack and pops the top off, extracting a map. The pen cap is off again as Chloe starts marking coordinates. Her hands feel shaky. She’s smiling an honest smile for the first time in weeks.

“Aha!” She croons, holding up the map in satisfaction. After giving the little black dot marking a point miles away from the ruins its due respect, she pulls out several other pens. 

“What are you doing?” Nadine asks, looking over her shoulder in puzzlement.

“Well Love, I’ve had a particularly shit time with bloodthirsty warlords snatching _my_ maps. This way nobody can read it but us.” She finishes her subterfuge, dotting the map with random colored points. She pivots turbulently on her bottom, holding the map up like a child with a drawing for the fridge. The laugh Nadine gifts her in response makes her insides squeeze delightfully.

“Expecting bloodthirsty warlords, are we?” Nadine questions, not particularly unserious.

“I wish we didn’t have to, but you know how this rot goes.” Chloe stands up and dusts off. “You really should sweep in here.”

“Don’t have a broom. I’m going to make some calls and see what competition we might have in the area. Should I call Drake and update him?”

Chloe thinks about it. “No. Seems risky to put this out on the radio waves. We’ll fill him in once we’re in the air.”

“Roger that.” Nadine says again, but this time it’s not playful. She’s in work mode. 

Oh, this trip is going to be  _ spectacular. _


	5. Chapter 5

Nadine wakes up with a muggy head again, this time with her cheek propped on Chloe’s sternum. There’s a callused hand curled limply against her back beneath her shirt. Chloe smells like sandalwood and old books. Nadine would happily stay there forever, but her stomach is snarling. She stifles a groan when she sees the time on her battered phone screen. Only a quarter past six. The only time she wakes up that early is if it’s for work. 

She spares a glance back at Chloe, once she’s at the door. Her sleeping face is turned toward Nadine. The curve of her Roman nose is a little crooked from being broken a few too many times. It only seems to enhance the other contours of her face. Her eyelashes are long enough to touch her cheekbones. She grumbles softly in her sleep and curls into the warm spot Nadine left behind.The mercenary turns away once her chest is too tight to bear any longer. 

Somehow, her ear catches a faint clatter in the kitchen. Immediately she gives up on letting Chloe sleep, waking her with a shove and handing her a loaded handgun from the compartment in the bottom drawer of her dresser. “We’ve got company, Frazer.” She warns, slowly opening her door.

“Muh?”

“Shh!” the mercenary reproves, flicking her safety off. As the two are exiting the hallway into the living room, Nadine can hear a muffled, familiar voice. She lowers her gun, if only fractionally, and rounds the corner to find Sam Drake humming in her kitchen, setting food out on the counter. Her jaw drops. 

_“Drake!”_

“Morning miss Ross,” he greets her smugly. “You should really close that extra bedroom window.”

Chloe snickers at that. She looks almost sultry, leaning on the archway that way. Nadine swallows. She’s still only wearing a camisole and a borrowed pair of Nadine’s boy shorts. 

Sam lifts an eyebrow at her. “Hey Chlo.” 

“Morning.” She chirps, reaching across the counter for a piece of toast and setting the gun to the side. Nadine is still half asleep, blushing and sputtering. She turns her safety back on. 

“I live on the _twelfth floor!”_ She finally manages. 

“Cute place.” Sam agrees, giving her an approving nod.

Nadine scowls. “You two planned this.” 

“Planned what?” They say together, looking at her in genuine confusion. Nadine rubs her brow.

“Nevermind,” she says until a groggy thought occurs to her. “Where did you get all the stuff to do this?” She wants to know, gesturing to the extravagant spread on the island. 

Sam shrugs. “The grocery store. Where’d you think?” 

She pinches the bridge of her nose and one of her feet sticks out to tap on the floor in agitation. “You climbed into my twelfth floor window with an arm full of grocery bags?”

“What? No. I came in the window, and left the door unlocked when I went.” 

“Did your mothers never teach either of you to knock?” 

“What’s the fun in that?” They reply together. Nadine groans. Defeated, she makes a plate and glares at Sam while shoveling food in her mouth. “This doesn’t mean I like you, Drake,” She grumbles. 

“I’m sensing a but.” Sam says, sounding still so very smug. 

Nadine huffs almost amiably. “But,” she concedes, “this is good.” 

His grin widens into a real smile. “Thank you.” He says, taking a dramatic bow. Nadine rolls her eyes. By now Chloe has carried her plate into the living room, clearly intending to eat and work. Sam looks over Nadine’s shoulder in curiosity. 

“Did you sleep together?” 

Nadine chokes on a mouthful of fried egg. _“Drake!”_

“Well I didn’t see any other bedrooms but yours!” Sam says, protesting her glare. 

She sags with sudden exhaustion. “Slept. Only slept.” She says sternly.

The tall man nods, and Nadine can see the cogs in his head turning. “Have you told her?”

“Told her what?” 

“Well, y’know. About...that.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck. 

She grimaces. Feelings aren’t something either of them talk about frequently. That he knows she has them at all is a fluke.   
“Ja, sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Well she thought we,” she points at herself and then at him, “are a _we.”_

“And?”

“And I told her we aren’t.” 

“Was that it?” He questions, looking dubious. Her face feels hot again. “Because that’s not really _sort_ _of_ telling her anything.” 

“I told her I like women, in not as many words.” She admits. It’s the first time she’s ever said _“I like women.”_ aloud to anyone, including herself. She takes another bite of food, trying not to look at her friend. Even through the countless assurances from him that it’s nothing to be ashamed of, she’s still too spooked to be vulnerable. 

Sam rubs a hand over his face, “Look, Nadine-“

“Sam! Nadine! C’mere!” Chloe calls out from the living room. Nadine goes, eager to not continue the conversation. Sam follows. 

“We’ll talk later.” He says, tone for once very serious. Nadine sighs.

“Look at this!” She says, handing the prism to Sam and a sheet of flimsy printer paper to Nadine. “Look familiar?”

Nadine squints at the paper, it’s a rough copy of the regional map, with symbols on a few odd points. Nadine nods, wishing she’d put her contacts in. “Those are the symbols on the key.” 

“Lemme see that.” Sam says, reaching for the map. 

Nadine swats his hand away. “Eish, don’t snatch!” 

Sam pouts (as much as any grown man can pout, that is) and says almost condescendingly, “Please miss Ross, can I see the map?” 

Nadine rolls it up and smacks him with it before handing it over and going to leave. She’s got a headache from leaving her contacts out and she wants to finish her breakfast. 

“Coffee?” She inquires of Chloe from the archway, pretending to ignore Sam. Really, if he asked she’d make him a cup too. He’s sitting among the documents with Chloe now, far too invested to even notice. Nadine smiles. Kindred spirits, these two. Chloe waves a lazy hand. 

“The usual, would you please Love?”

“Ja.” Nadine hums, momentarily transfixed by the arch of her back bent over a notebook, and the focused scrunch of her eyebrows.

Chloe must feel the mercenary’s eyes on her, because she looks up. “Thank you, Nadine.” She says, smiling a soft smile that turns the shorter woman’s knees to butter. 

“Ja. Ja, no problem.” She mumbles, blushing. She’s always fokken blushing lately, it seems. 

Sam re-enters the kitchen behind her. He leans in the same spot Chloe had. 

“Nadine.” He sounds tired. 

“Ja.” She answers, pouring Chloe’s coffee. Once again, she can’t bring herself to look at him. 

“She’s crazy about you.” He blurts. Nadine turns, finally, startled.

 _“What?”_

_“Chloe._ The way she just looked at you, you didn’t see that?” He comes to stand beside her, the small of his back against the ledge of the counter.

“What are you talking about?” She snaps, not wanting to be prodded about it any longer. She sips off the coffee to make sure it tastes okay, and then adds a touch more milk before she’s satisfied. She’s back to not looking at him. Sam rubs his hand over his face again. He does that a lot. He’s frequently exasperated with her, these days.

“You’ve got to talk to her, Nadine. It’s gonna eat you up inside.” 

“What’s it to you?” She says, not sounding nearly as sharp as she’d intended. Even to herself she sounded sad. Dejected, even. 

“Well miss Ross.” He says with a fake look of dismay on his face. “It just so happens that I care about you.” 

For once, Nadine doesn’t scoff. Instead she lays a rare hand on his arm and says a simple, quiet, _“Danke.”_

Sam offers her a weak smile. “You can do it, Nadine.”

“Ja.” She mumbles, stepping around him before Chloe’s coffee goes cold. The older woman takes it with a toothy smile. 

“Thank you kindly, China. You didn’t get any?”

“I’m going back to bed.” Nadine professes. Her temples are throbbing. Chloe chuckles that husky chuckle.

“Keep it warm for me, then.” She teases.

Nadine refuses to shy away from the flirting, this time. Sam is smirking into a folder in the background, pretending not to be listening. Something about that emboldens her. 

“Ja, Frazer. I’ll do that.” She doesn’t look for Chloe’s expression after, or even Sam’s. She just crawls onto her mattress on the floor and feels like she’s made a very large step. A step to where, she isn’t sure. But it’s a step nonetheless. 

She falls back asleep smiling.


	6. Chapter 6

“You alright, Frazer?”

“Peachy!” She squeaks, clutching the edge of her seat with a white knuckle grip.She’s fighting an overwhelming urge to vomit as Sully winds up for takeoff.

Chloe knows it’s irrational. She’s spent most of her life at some great height or another. The difference, she suspects, is that on a cliff face her own hands are what’s keeping her suspended. If she falls, she can catch herself. She can pick and choose where her feet go. There’s no such control aboard the sea plane, and as much as she trusts Victor the whole experience is terribly unnerving. She keeps her eyes shut tight. There’s a nudge on her shoulder, so she turns her head but doesn’t open them. Nadine puts something in her hand.

“Take that,” she suggests gently, “it’ll make you sleep.”

Chloe takes the pill dry, and croaks out a quiet thanks. Nadine takes hold of her hand, running her thumb over her partner’s knuckles. That isn’t enough for Chloe, and she latches onto Nadine’s whole arm with a shudder of fright when the plane takes off. The solidness of her bicep is oddly comforting. She let’s go eventually, bouncing her leg with nerves. She spares a look up to see that Sam is suffering a similar affliction, fingers interlaced in his lap and forehead resting upon them. His eyes are squinchedshut and he looks rather pale. She sucks her teeth in sympathy.

“Y’alright mate?” She asks, sounding shaky even to herself. Sam sticks a thumb up in reply. Nadine nudges the bottle into his fist.

“Water?” She asks him, setting her palm on his shoulder. He nods meekly.

“Thanks.” He groans.

“Ja.”

Chloe is trying to comprehend their sudden closeness with a raised eyebrow. Just a few months ago she was herding them about like squabbling children, and now they’re perfectly friendly. When she had hinted at potential fondness, Nadine had made it clear there was no romance involved. (What a conversation that had been, she thought with glee.) While waiting around for Sully they’d been roughhousing in a way that was almost...sibling like?

Chloe doesn’t have siblings, so she wouldn’t know. Honestly she isn’t sure if Nadine does either. She decides to ask. “Hey Nadine?”

“Ja?”

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Nadine pauses, falters. “I had a brother.” Her voice is low. Tentative. This is a delicate topic, Chloe realizes. She drops it almost immediately, afraid of pushing even if she very much wants to inquire after the ‘ had ’. Artfully she changes the subject.

“Tell me about camels.” She requests. Nadine cocks her head.

_ “Why?” _

_“Because_ we’re going to Egypt and I could use a distraction.” She says. She’s more than a little disgusted by the nervous pitch to her voice. Jesus, she needs to get a grip. Nadine sighs. Chloe’s expression must prompt her to humor the taller woman.

“Their spit isn’t really spit, it’s a mixture of stomach content and saliva meant to scare off whatever frightens them.”

“Gross.” Chloe says, delighted.

“Their humps store water and can get up to thirty inches tall.” Nadine says, clearly thinking. She’s sorting through that impressive brain of hers for another factoid, clearly. She conjures just one more. “They have three eyelids.” 

“Really? Why?” Sam pipes up, interested. 

“Keeps the sand out of their eyes.” Nadine supplies, clearly still thinking. “That’s all I’ve got.” She admits after a moment.

Chloe smiles, charmed. “What about...I don’t know, Jackals? They live in Egypt, right?”

“Ja. They do. They’re one of the only canid species that doesn’t live in packs.” She says. “They’re nocturnal, too. And they’ll eat anything.”

“Cobras? Surely you know a lot about those, they’re your favorite.” Chloe prompts. She’s loving the glint in Nadine’s eyes. Her heart putters bravely in her chest when the mercenary smiles. 

“They can live up to thirty years. And their hoods are actually specially developed ribs and muscles. They make the snake look bigger when it’s threatened to scare off predators.” She shoots off the top of her head. She thinks for a second before she continues. It’s adorable. “Their venom is a neurotoxin that’s even effective on other snakes.” Nadine says, greatly enthused.

“Cannibals, are they?” Chloe interjects, genuinely curious.

Nadine nods. “Ja, they’ll eat other snakes if they get the opportunity. And they’re the only species that sprays venom from their fangs.”

“That’s terrifying.” Sam chimes in again. Nadine nods.

“That’s why a group of them is called a quiver.” She jokes. Chloe chuckles. And then yawns.

The conversation lulls for a little while. Chloe’s head is leaning back into the bulkhead. Nadine eventually pipes up about an hour after Sam’s fallen asleep. “He died when I was a teenager.” She says quietly. Chloe rouses herself after a few seconds of confusion, surprised by the moment of candor. Softly, she curls her palm around Nadine’s elbow to comfort her.

“What happened?”

“Shoreline.” Nadine says hoarsely. Chloe had guessed as much.

“I’m sorry, Love.” She murmurs. Nadine sighs.

“It was a long time ago.” 

“Thank you.” Chloe blurts. Nadine looks surprised.

“For what?”

“For everything. Letting me stay with you. Telling me.” She rambles, “Everything.”

“Ja, Chloe. No problem.” Now those honey colored eyes are looking right into Chloe’s. Splashes of color hit both of their faces at the proximity but neither of them look away. Chloe smiles shyly.

“I’m not just Frazer, anymore?” She teases. Her open palm is resting on Nadine’s thigh, just above her knee.

“You’ve never been  just Frazer.”  Nadine states. The steadiness in her voice sends a liquid bolt through Chloe’s stomach. She attains a coy smile.

“No?”She bumps Nadine’s nose with hers, goading. 

“No.” Nadine says, and kisses her. Chloe smiles into it, slinging her arms over those solid shoulders. Nadine cups her face with both hands, kissing her lower lip.

Before Chloe can get too into it though, Nadine pulls away. She looks at her lap, releasing Chloe’s face. The treasure hunter frowns.

“Nadine?”

“I’m sorry.” The mercenary near whispers. Chloe’s heart drops. Had Nadine not really wanted it? Not meant it? Had she pushed too far again? She swallows thickly.

“What for?” She asks, not sure she really wants to know the answer. Nadine closes her eyes tight, like she’s afraid. 

“I’m attracted to you.” She says. Chloe nearly laughs in disbelief. She brow beats the nervous reaction back and treads carefully.

“Why would you be sorry about that, Love?” She keeps her voice low, gentle. She can see Nadine’s throat bob with a hard swallow.

“We’re partners. We eat together. You sleep in my bed and let me make your coffee even though I always get it wrong. We trust each other. I thought if you knew we wouldn’t be like that anymore.” She admits. Her voice is hoarse again, sounding on the verge of tears. Chloe takes her by the chin for another round of scintillating eye contact. 

“Nadine Ross,” She says firmly. Her partner tries to look away, but she holds firm. “You make it sound like you’re some sort of-of _predator_.”

“Aren’t I?” Nadine croaks, face flushing. Chloe lets her go, if only in shock. “I knew it might make you uncomfortable and I kept it to myself anyway.” 

“Nadine, being attracted to someone doesn’t make you a pervert.” Chloe chides, clapping her on the shoulder. “If it does, I’m just as guilty as you are.”

“You are?” Nadine looks disbelieving. Sounds that way, too. To Chloe, that just won’t do, so she kisses her again. Longer, this time. Rougher.

“Yes, I am.” She husks when she pulls away. Nadine is smiling, albeit weakly. Chloe strokes her cheek with a callused thumb. Their foreheads lean together, only to break away when the plane hits turbulence. Sam jerks awake with a wild look in his eyes and Chloe squeaks in fright.

“Everything okay up there Victor?” He calls, sounding every bit as nervous as Chloe feels.

“Hit a warm air pocket. We’re fine, ladies.”He answers from the cockpit. Chloe has no doubt that he’d heard their conversation through the thin grey curtain separating them. She can’t bring herself to care. She buries her face into Nadine’s neck, breathing her in. She finds it rather comforting.

Sam grumbles about being called a lady from his seat, slumping back into his corner to return to sleep. Despite his calm facial expression, his hands have a white knuckle grip on his pants. Chloe’s surprised there’s no wet spot on them.

“This is going to be a long flight.” She sighs. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Self indulgent smut. That’s it. Really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *largely inspired by armengard’s idea in “Seven Down“ that Nadine thrives off of praise
> 
> *you can’t tell me Chloe “it’s a control thing.” Frazer isn’t a top
> 
> *I promise I’m going to get on with the real story eventually it’s just...sooooo looooooong

Nadine isn’t sure what’s wrong. She feels... _tense_. Unsure. Her back is pressed up against Chloe’s side in their single bed hotel room. Her body is buzzing with foreign energy, and she’s unable to place it as anxiety or unease. Her stomach feels tight. She contemplates slipping out from the ring of Chloe’s arm and going for a run to dispel some energy. That always works for her nerves.

She goes to do just that when Chloe tightens the hold on her, turning to face her with bleary eyes. “Alright Love?”

“Ja. Ja. Just- I feel weird.” She blurts, sitting up and rubbing her face. Chloe blinks a few times, trying to wake the rest of the way up.

“Weird? Like, what kind of weird?”

“I don’t know. Weird. Tense. Too warm. Probably just nerves.” She says, going to stand up and dig through her bag for some joggers. Chloe snags her arm.

“Nadine.” She says, sounding exasperated. “It’s the middle of the night. Stay in bed.”

“I don’t like it!” Nadine says, panting. She feels fidgety. It’s unbearably hot and the roiling in her belly is becoming terribly unpleasant. She’s starting to panic.

“Come here.” Chloe murmurs, hand wrapped around her elbow tugging insistently. Nadine goes, practically shaking with a need she doesn’t know how to satiate. Chloe cups her jaw and kisses her softly. Her body goes shamefully soft at the touch. She sighs into it.

“There now, c’mon.” She coaxes, getting Nadine to lay facing her. “Tell me what’s wrong, Love.”

“My stomach feels weird,” Nadine begins warily. Complaining of ailments is odd for her, as she’s never had anyone ask. “And I feel hot. And...squirmy.” She struggles for the correct adjective. English is not her first language, clearly. Chloe is chuckling.

_ Eish_ , that can’t be good.

The thief bumps her nose against Nadine’s, smiling. “Love, I think you’re just...experiencing a biological phenomenon.”

“I’m too young for menopause.” Nadine deadpans. Chloe snorts violently.

“No, Nadine that’s- oh for Christ sake I think you’re just horny.” She says bluntly.

“What? No- I’m not, it isn’t-“ she struggles, and begins to lose the words halfway through. Now that this craving has been given a name, it’s intensified.

Of course, she’s known she’s wanted Chloe for a long time. Wanted to be close, wanted to talk and never stop talking, wanted to show her things and be shown things in return. But _damnit,_ sex hasn’t really occurred to her until now. The timing is, if she’s allowed to say so, pretty shit. There’s no room and no privacy to digest it in peace.

She’s blushing and sputtering and pulling away, unable to meet Chloe’s grey gaze. Despite the fact that she can’t help it, she feels a swell of shame. “I’m sorry.” She manages to spit out, finally. Chloe gives her a perplexed look.

“For what, Love?” 

“Just, I don’t usually- I’ve never  _wanted- jissus_ , we only just talked about this and-“

“Nadine, it’s perfectly alright. C’mere.” She motions for Nadine to set her neck on a toned bicep, and the younger obliges. She’s glad to not feel those intense eyes on her any longer. The elbow supporting her head bends so long fingers can embed themselves in her hair. Chloe’s sternum pressed to her face feels cool and solid. She breathes a little easier, but the tension in her stomach prevails.

“Hhm, you are warm, Honey.” Chloe mumbles, half asleep still, sliding her other palm up the shorter woman’s spine below her shirt. Nadine shudders, pushing closer, unintentionally mouthing the skin below her lips. She feels when Chloe stiffens, and the fingers in her hair tighten. Nadine whines at the pressure, hands seeking the bare skin at Chloe’s hips.

“Please, Chloe.” She says, hoarse. She’s not even really sure what she’s asking for. Chloe’s hand leaves her hair to start shoving her onto her back. The Aussie suddenly looks ferocious, like Nadine is her next meal. The mercenary whimpers at the expression on her partner’s face, hands still pressed securely to sharp hips.

Chloe kisses her, hard and with tongue. Nadine moans, clutching tight at the jutting hipbones under her palms. The treasure hunter practically snarls, and Nadine can hear the hands on either side of her head grip the sheets so hard they creak. She’s trembling again.

“Oh,  _ shit _ _.”_ She pants when Chloe’s thigh slots between hers. Chloe makes an approving noise against her neck before sucking hard. She can feel the capillaries busting and quakes, feeling on the verge of bursting herself. That clever mouth trails down her neck at the same time callused hands push up her shirt. The cool air in the room feels wonderful against her bare skin so Nadine sits up and tears it off. Chloe’s nails dig into her shoulders when the treasure hunter shoves her down on her back again. She’s still pathetically clutching at Chloe’s hips, trying to make her move. She’s surprisingly strong. Nadine can’t make her do much of anything.

“Chloe  _please.”_

“Patience.” Chloe chastises, biting her lower lip. Nadine whines.

Her mouth returns to its journey, leaving a trail of wet kisses and teeth marks down her tender throat. She leaves another dark hickey between Nadine’s breasts, making the smaller of the two squirm again. Chloe sits up, taking Nadine’s face in one hand roughly. That fierce look is back on her face.

“I  _said_ be still.” She growls, that wonderful thigh withdraws just a little further away and Nadine could cry at the lack of pressure. She nods, curls bouncing, feeling distraught. Chloe huffs, once again going back to the very important work her mouth had begun. The web between her thumb and pointer finger catches a nipple almost distractedly and Nadine gasps but diligently stays put. Warm, wet suction finally reaches the nipple opposite the first and she cries out, but remains rigid. Chloe pulls away what feels like hours later with a scrape of her teeth.Nadine strains to remain still and it earns her a smile. 

“Now that’s a good girl.” Chloe commends. Her knee is pressing where Nadine wants it again, and even better, she can feel the other woman’s hot center on her own clothed leg. She moans again, louder. She isn’t sure if it’s from the praise or the friction. She blushes either way and turns her face to the side. Chloe chuckles against her neck, each hand studiously stimulating a breast.

“You like that?”  


“ _Yes.” _ Nadine pants.

“Would you like me to continue, or can you come like this?” She purrs, steadily rocking her thigh up against Nadine’s pubic bone.

_“Fuck me.”_ The mercenary gasps. Chloe nips at her neck, and Nadine can feel her smile against the sensitive skin there.

“Much obliged.” She says, reaching between them to pull the tie of Nadine’s sweatpants. When she leans back to yank them off she takes her underwear too, and for the first time they break for just a second.

“God.” Chloe whispers, running her hands up Nadine’s bare stomach and then down her arms, marveling at her. Nadine gulps. The nudity doesn’t make her uneasy, for once. She just feels  _hungry_.  She curls her fingers into the bottom of Chloe’s top, looking up at her pleadingly.

“Can I take this off?”

“‘Course.” Chloe says, lifting her arms up over her head. Once it’s off, Nadine stares, and stares, and stares. Chloe smirks.

“You fancy me.” She croons, sounding terribly triumphant. Nadine gets herself together long enough to roll her eyes.

“Ja, Chloe.”

“Hhm, I like when you say my name.” Chloe murmurs, leaning down close to Nadine’s face. The South African swallows hard, grip tightening on slender brown hips again. Fingertips brush over her sex and she gasps into a kiss.

“Ah-ah.” Chloe warns when her hips begin to lift, chasing the pressure. Nadine snaps back down obediently. Chloe’s fingers press against her again, harder this time. She nearly cries out at the motion against her clit, but keeps her teeth clenched shut. Chloe doesn’t like this either, apparently, because she pauses.

“Let me hear it, Nadine.” She husks in that gravely, authoritative tone. The shorter woman’s jaw falls open and a moan of protest tumbles out. “Good girl.” Chloe breathes against her ear, sounding greatly enthused.

She puts her forehead on Nadine’s when the mercenary shudders. Chloe’s fingertips are close to the center of her, and Nadine cants her hips upward in want.

“Are you sure?” Chloe asks, and Nadine opens her eyes to look up at her lover. She doesn’t look away after nodding enthusiastically or even when Chloe’s fingers curl against the top of her and set her body on fire. She feels empowered, looking Chloe right in the eye when she moans. Her partner’s face turns wild again, and she picks up the pace, thrusting hard and fast.

Nadine gasps, eyes opening wide and head flying back. Her back arches and her toes curl. It’s awful, she thinks, that in well over thirty years of living, and something like twenty having sex, that she’s never felt this way. She’s glad it’s with Chloe. With anyone else she’d be embarrassed at how wet the whole affair sounds.

“I love you.” She moans when she comes, fingernails digging into Chloe’s back. Chloe either doesn’t hear her or doesn’t care, and continues to work her through it.

After, she sags into the bed, relieved and in awe and exhausted. Chloe lays on her back, close but not touching. She has a content little smile on her lips and her eyes are closed. Nadine lightly brushes her fingertips across a toned tan belly and the flat of her sternum, still in wonder.

“Did you mean it?” Chloe asks, suddenly. She looks over at Nadine almost lazily, trying to look apathetic. Nadine can hear hope in her voice, though. She smiles, if a bit bashfully.

“Ja.”

“Good.” Chloe says, succinct. Nadine chuckles.

“Fancy a shower, Love?”

“Ja.”

Chloe sits up and gives her a manic grin. “Race you?”

“What do I win?” Nadine asks.

Chloe leans forward to whisper in her ear, and Nadine blanches at the reward offered to her. She’s still sitting in bed, stunned, when the shower starts.

What has she gotten herself into?


	8. Chapter 8

“ _ Jissus _ .” Nadine says, admiring the size of the chasm in the ground.

Chloe holds her hand up, trying to silence her companions, but Sam says “That’s a _really_ big canyon.” 

“God damnit, why’d you have to say it aloud?” Chloe groans. Sam’s head cocks.

“What?” He says, puzzled. Chloe thumps her forehead on the steering wheel of the four by four.

“Whenever something really scares the shit out of me, I imagine it’s just a big building in the city, and I climb it.” She says. “And now I can’t do that.”

“Well shit, I’m sorry. It’s just...big.” He says. Nadine nods in agreement.

“Right, well, I’m going to climb it and try not to die. Catch up whenever you so please.” She says as she vacates the car and cracks her knuckles in an upside down cradle above her head. Nadine can hear her shoulders pop and blushes when she remembers biting into them a few hours prior.

Chloe chalks her hands, and then disappears over the edge. Nadine glares at Sam when he chuckles.

“I know what  _you’re_ imagining.” He teases. Nadine huffs, suddenly feeling smug. She follows Chloe’s example and rubs some chalk over her own palms and finger pads.

“I don’t  _have_ to imagine,  _dwankie_.” 

“Oh?” He says, as she drops over the ledge.

“Ja.” She grunts, shimmying along a thin ledge so she can drop onto a series of handholds. She hopes he’ll drop it, now that her brain has caught up to her words and she has the sense to be embarrassed.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” He says when he joins her on another little plateau along the wall. She re-chalks her hands (it’s become a nervous habit, at this point) and he offers her a canteen after taking a glug out of it. She accepts gratefully. Even this early in the morning, the desert is scorching.

_ “ Danke _ _.”_ She mumbles, and then because she wants to offer Sam the ability to confide in her as she does him, she asks, “Have you talked to your brother?”

“Nah.” He says briefly, hopping onto a branch and swinging across to a set of handholds with a not-very-pleasant  _ thunk. _

“Why not?” She says when she perches just above him. She imagines she can hear him shrug, pebbles clattering all around them into the spike laden pit below.

“Well I mean, what’s there to tell? ‘Hey Nathan, I thought for a long time that something was wrong with me because I don’t want sex, but it turns out that it’s totally normal and nothing noteworthy’?”

“If it’s something you want to talk about, then you should.” Nadine suggests, knowing from personal experience. Sam shrugs and she can actually see it, this time. They hit another ledge big enough to stand on. She can see Chloe, and dear God she’s  _ already _ almost to the bottom?

“I talked to you about it.” He says, clearly not getting what she’s saying. She feels a sudden wave of candor overtake her, just as she had with Chloe.

“I would’ve given _anything_ to talk to my brother about it.” She says, chest and eyes burning with the idea. Sam regards her with surprise.

“I will, then. When I feel ready.” He says, and she’s glad when he doesn’t question her any further. Leave it to treasure hunters to respect your privacy, she thinks.

“You might never feel ready.” She says honestly. She drops onto the ledge and begins picking her way down. She eventually comes to a jutting branch where she can hook her rope and rappel down into a series of new footholds. Her fingers ache.

She goes from ledge to ledge, handhold to foothold, branch to overhang to branch again until she hits a divot in the wall where she can brace her legs and sit her bottom to rest for a moment. She’s still a good forty feet in the air, but she feels much less nervous, especially when she can see Chloe perched on a flat rock at the bottom. Sam slides down next to her, and offers her his canteen again. She takes it and drains the last of its contents.

_ “ Danke _ _.”_ She says again.

“So you guys really...?”

“Ja, we did.” She says, blushing. Sam makes a little sniffling noise.

“They grow up so fast.”

“I will shove you off of this cliff.”

“We’re almost there.” He says, enthused. Nadine nods.

“Look over there. We can slide a good way down, hook onto that root, rappel down, and hop off of that ledge to the bottom.”

“Is that how Chloe got down so fast?”

“I guess so.” She says. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” He mutters. They hop onto the pebbly incline in quick succession, using their heels to dig in and slow their descent. Nadine manages to grab Sam by his belt loop with three fingers when he misses the root and they dangle there for several seconds squawking in fear.

“Jesus! You saved my skin!” He crows once his hook is attached. Nadine resists the urge to pummel him.

“Ja, at the expense of my shoulder!”

They’re still swatting at each other and bickering when they make their way over to Chloe, who’s busily scratching away in her journal. Nadine is blinking her eyes ferociously.

“You alright love?”

“Sam got dirt in my contact.” She grumbles. Chloe coos in sympathy and Sam mutters about Nadine being a tattle tale under his breath.

“Let me see, Love.” She beckons Nadine over, and after rinsing her hands liberally with her water bottle she gently swipes her fingertip along Nadine’s lower lid. Some of the dust comes off and Nadine is relieved, but the itchiness against her eye remains so she resolves to take her contact out and rinse it, cursing Sam Drake all the while.

Chloe is still holding her face, looking concerned. Nadine has to fight the urge to smile, feeling well taken care of. Chloe kisses the tip of her nose when Sam isn’t looking.

“I was beginning to miss you two trying to kill one another. Adds comic relief.” She says, teasing. Nadine huffs.

“I should’ve dropped him.”

“Don’t be catty.” Chloe says sternly. Sam’s already walking over to their intended destination, a cave marked on the map a few miles before the ruins. Nadine knows that Chloe is hoping to figure out the key. She hopes so too, after all the  _ bladdy _ trouble they’ve gone through to get here.

Chloe is hooking her arm through Nadine’s, hanging on her bicep as she walks into the mouth of the little cave. Nadine feels rather like she’s escorting a baroness to a gala, even if she’s in combat boots with duct tape around the cuffs to keep the sand out and Chloe is easily four inches taller than her.

“Why, Nadine Ross, are _you..._ _grinning?”_ Chloe heckles. Nadine shrugs, unwilling to part with her admittedly rare smile.

“We’re treasure hunting. I love treasure hunting.” She says as if it’s the most exciting part of the scenario. Chloe’s chuckle sends a warm thrill up her stomach and into her chest.

They eventually have to pull out their torch lights, swiveling them back and fourth in the darkness until they reach a massive circular chamber. It’s got a grate imbedded in the ceiling to let a beam of light shine directly onto a massive rectangular altar. Hieroglyphs cover the walls from floor to ceiling, some of them small, some of them spectacularly large. Chloe releases Nadine’s arm to take a picture.

Sam is walking around the chamber in wonder, running his fingers along the edges of the drawing he can reach in a way that’s almost loving. The light in his eyes matches Chloe’s, and if Nadine could see her own face she’d guess that she matches as well.

“Amazing.” She says, once she’s done taking it all in. Chloe walks over to the rectangular altar, and Nadine feels a jolt of attraction at the look on her face. Her singleminded focus is unwavering.

“Look at this.” She says, motioning for her compatriots to join her. Nadine peers around her to get a glimpse of the wide stone expanse.

The stone plinth is covered in slender rectangular pieces. They all have fragments of pictures on them, but they’re all mismatched. Chloe’s eyebrows furrow.

“I see.” She hums, after a moment. Nadine watches in awe as she slides the little stones around, cobbling together a coherent picture fragment by fragment. She’s mumbling to herself as she goes about her work, not unlike the tusk puzzles.

“So you, my friend, are battling this fellow, over here, and you, little creature, are fleeing this chap, and  _you,_ you devious little bugger, where do you go?” She says, shifting the stones around much more quickly than Nadine thinks she herself would ever be capable of.

“Aha!” Chloe cries out triumphantly. There’s a rumble from beneath their feet, and the side of the altar opens to reveal a triangular slot. Chloe pulls the key from her waist pouch and pushes it in, looking very proud of herself. When the key emerges on the other side of the table, the top two inches of the glass rod center are showing. The little stone chunk from the top of the key is sitting in a little tray. Chloe takes them both and the altar closes.

“Huh.” She says.

“Here.” Nadine offers, turning on her torch. “Let’s see if the map is any clearer.”

They shine the torch through the bottom of the little glass column, and the map is revealed on the floor. Once again, Chloe slides a sheet of paper beneath it and begins to trace. She beams at Nadine, and the mercenary can’t help but grin back. There’s a new spot in the map, with a little symbol Nadine doesn’t recognize.

“How much do you want to bet that that’s where we have to go to unlock the next section of the key?” Chloe asks, looking up at her and then over at Sam either for approval or a contribution to the pool. Sam nods thoughtfully.

“Yeah, Chlo, I bet you’re probably right. Looks like it’s down the canyon thattaways.”

“Right then. Shall we?” She says, grabbing back onto Nadine.

“We shall.” Sam says, turning to waltz back out through the door they had entered.

A door that wasn’t there anymore.

“Ah, you’re shittin’ me.” He mutters.

Chloe points a single finger up, grinning. The two follow her indication to see the grate has receded into the ceiling’s stonework.

“Looks like we have to climb.” Nadine says.

“Real shocker there.” Chloe replies sarcastically.

“Race you?” Nadine offers.

“You’re on.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Oh, for God’s sake.” Chloe mutters. It’s another puzzle. What is it with the goddamn puzzles in this goddamned canyon? She wonders.

“You alright down there?” Sam calls. Chloe, absorbed in her task, nods. And then she realizes that Sam can’t see her. Both him and Nadine were too broad in the shoulders to fit in the little crack in the ceiling that lead to the alter. The alternative, much less unorthodox, pathway had been blocked off by a cave in. Nadine, true to form, had wanted to blow it up. Chloe has shimmied through the crack, wincing as it squeezed her ass and thinking of the one and only Charlie Cutter, who would have surely been a quivering, babbling mess by now.

“Chloe?” The mercenary calls, cupping her hand over her mouth to carry the sound into the crack.

“Yeah! M’fine, China. It’s another puzzle.” She calls back, already fiddling with the pieces. They’re little stone pillars, and they all have to be arranged in a way that allows a little marble to pass down the slope of the alter. There are thin bars about an inch apart across the top prohibiting her from just picking the marble up and plunking it at the end of the little maze.

Nadine’s voice answers from above with a chuckle. “You told me they always come in threes.” Her voice sounds like it’s getting further away. Chloe figures she’s going to scout the area for enemies or trinkets or water. Two of these three things would be very, very welcome. The water from their jugs has taken on a metallic taste on top of being disgustingly warm.

“Ugh.” She says in return. If that were true this time, then this was her last puzzle. The last one had consisted of swinging and pulling levers and overall dirty work. She had grumbled about bringing Sam and cutting the take another way with someone who did none of the work. And then he’d caught her inches from breaking her neck and she’d shut her mouth.

Finally, moments after the tip of her tongue had dried out from being poked between her lips in concentration, the little marble clunked into position. She grinned, calling, “Got it!” into the crack above her head. She passed the little stone pyramid through the alter and the final stone section was removed from the glass rod. She put the chunk of seemingly useless rock in her pouch, and tucked the key in her bra.

“Ready to come up?” Sam called down.

“Yeah, pass down a rope if you’d be so kind, mate.” She says, hooking her torch back to her belt. She grabs hold of the soft cotton rope (she only ever buys soft rope so as to not burn her hands. The stuff Nathan carries around is rough and horrid.)

“There she is.” Sam greets as she emerges. He hoists her out by a clasped hand and claps her on the shoulder when she stands and brushes off.

“Here she is.” Chloe greets. “Where’s Nadine?”

“She’s up there, covering us.” He says, pointing to a little ledge where a barely visible Nadine is perched with a sniper rifle beneath a tarp that matches the color of the sand. Chloe whistles to her, sharp and loud. Nadine doesn’t move. Her soft voice crackles through the radio. 

“I see movement. Cover the entrance and take cover. They aren’t far off.”

“Roger that.” Sam whispers into his radio, shoving some moderately heavy stones over the crack in the ground. He goes to shove a bigger one and Chloe stops him.

“Use this one instead. Too heavy and we might cause a cave in.”

“On three.” He says. “One, two, three.” He groans, pushing his shoulder into Chloe’s preferred rock. They both cover in the stubby, bristly bushes at the base of the canyon and wait. Chloe is glad their four by four is miles away at the top of the canyon or their cover would be blown. It’s obvious these new comers aren’t very friendly, as they come rappelling down into the canyon with massive rifles on their backs and a scraggly looking mix of body armor. Chloe slides on some brass knuckles and eases her safety off.

Nadine will pick off any overzealous enemies, but for now Chloe and Sam have it covered. They crouched down to wait.

“Fan out! Karim said he saw them coming down the canyon from the west! Find them, and take the woman alive!” 

“Shit, did we get spotted by scouts?” Sam whispers, maintaining his half crouch.

Chloe puts a finger to her lips and tips her head sharply to the left to indicate a heavily armed shotgunner. Sam swallows hard. She taps him and points to the front of them. The other four mercs had split up in groups of two, half going the way the trio had come, and half going around the bend in the opposite direction. Their headman was at the top of the canyon, reading over his charts, totally unaware. If the two of them moved in close enough synchronization, neither of the goons would have time to call out in response to the other being attacked.

Chloe stuck up three fingers. She put them down, one by one, and by the time the last finger met her palm she and Sam shot out, each taking down their mark silently and efficiently. 

Chloe had cracked hers across the temple with her brass, and while he was stunned she tightened the crook of her elbow around his neck and leveraged it with her other hand until he quit scrabbling at her arm, and even then she held on a little longer. It wouldn’t do for him to fake unconsciousness and then spring on her when she let him go, after all. Sam simply cupped the short, muscular man’s chin in his hand from behind and twisted his head sharply, breaking his neck in a way that severed his spinal cord. He was dead before he hit the ground. 

They dove back into cover. Chloe gestured for him to go west, the direction they’d come from, and take out the other two. She opted to round the bend of the canyon, flitting up the side of the canyon onto a sparsely vegetated ledge, out of sight. She dropped onto the first man from ten feet above, her feet meeting his shoulder blades and knocking him out cold from the sheer agony of two simultaneously dislocated shoulders. The other turned around at the cut off scream, clearly startled. She slugged him with a hard right before a swift kick to the junk brought him to his knees. She grabbed his face on the way down and shoved it into her knee, just like Nadine had taught her. She marveled at herself for a moment. Having the technique driven into her over and over again had certainly done her some favors. She’d have to thank Nadine profusely, she thought with a smirk.

She started up the opposite side of the canyon, just below the headman, bent over the hood of his four by four, scrutinizing his map. Clearly the moron had thought his men would apprehend the three travelers, strip them of their belongings, and haul them back up the cliff side to spill their knowledge on the whereabouts of some treasure at knifepoint.

_Fat chance,_ Chloe thought. She pulled herself up behind him, cut the strap of his rifle, yanked it away and tossed it over the edge in the span of a few seconds. He turned around to the barrel of a .45 defender in his face and a very, very angry Chloe Frazer.

Sam hauled himself up over the edge a moment later, with blood spattered on his face and a scowl. The short, greasy Egyptian man balked. A little red circle was suddenly glowing on his chest, and Chloe suspected Nadine was grinning behind it from her hiding spot. Chloe plucked his gun off his hip, and whipped his knife out of the cuff of his boot, tossing both over the edge with a nonchalant shrug.

“Now.” She says, light and friendly. “Who might you be?” 


	10. Chapter 10

Nadine smiles as she watches through her scope. Chloe had attained a vicious fighting style. She’s fast. Faster than Nadine, probably. Not as strong, but her technique has improved considerably. Four men had crumbled before her in the span of minutes. The mercenary is practically glowing with pride. She keeps her shot aimed at the oily looking little man’s chest, but doubts Chloe will need it.

Their would-be captor waves his hands in an innocent gesture. Chloe’s body language, although casual to onlookers, reminds Nadine of a panther. It looks to her like Chloe is toying with him. She grins even further. Sam’s outside her realm of vision, but the din of his voice carries across the canyon.

“Nadine!”

“Ja.” She answers via radio. He’d probably broken his in the brawl with a massive wall of a man he’d met once he’d split from Chloe. Nadine had watched carefully, hoping she wouldn’t have to take a shot and risk hitting him. Sam’s years of prison style fight experience had won, in the end. She let out a breath she’d been holding.

“Our friend here says he was hired to follow, maim and or kill us, Nadine. Any idea by who?” Chloe inquires, voice deceptively cheerful. The mercenary fights a shudder. She’s created a monster.

“Got a few. I’m going to do a sweep. Meet you at camp?”

“Roger that, Love.”

Nadine lingers, watching with a grim smile on her lips as Chloe gives the man a solid left and knocks him out before happily pillaging his vehicle and the others around the canyon’s edge.

Once she’s satisfied that her partner is safe Nadine stands and stretches, popping her stiff neck. She makes the climb the rest of the way up top easily enough. She scans the horizon, eyes never staying trained on one spot for too long, looking for the slightest movement. She turns her radio off. As she walks toward their little campsite, now aware that there are potential scouts lurking in the sparse brush and rocky outcroppings, she’s on high alert. Her nose is to the wind for smells of smoke or gunpowder or sweat. Her eyes flit around, watching the ground for tracks from boots or vehicles. She spots some upturned sand as she approaches a jagged section of rock. Looking closely at it she believes it may be a ruin wall.

“Show yourself.” She snarls, purely on intuition. Then, she barks it out again in her rough approximation of Arabic. Nothing happens for a few seconds, and she begins to doubt herself.

A shot rings out, a blind fire from the opposite side of the wall. It misses Nadine by several meters. She doesn’t even flinch. Casually, the slender woman pulls the pin from a grenade and tosses it over. There’s a cry of alarm and a boy rushes out into the open. The force of the blast catches him in the back, but he’s far enough away to be spared the worst of the shrapnel. A shard lodges in the back of his exposed thigh and he screams again. Nadine kicks his dropped handgun away savagely and hauls him up by his collar. He can’t be more than 17. She scoffs.

“English.” She says, angrily. “Do you speak it?”

The terrified boy nods. Nadine scoffs and drops him, but leans close to his face. “Tell your boss that he fucked with the wrong people.” She snarls. The kid nods again, and Nadine smells urine. She rolls her eyes, and bellows “GO!”

As the scrawny figure stumbles away, Nadine takes note of his direction. She pulls out her compass and marks it on her map. Her radio crackles when she turns it back on. It’s Chloe.

“Nadine? Nadine? Are you alright? There was an explosion. Nadine! Come in, Nadine!” Her voice pitches upward frantically. Nadine feels a stab of guilt. She’s used to going silent whenever she feels like it. Her shoreline comrades had never minded the habit. It meant she couldn’t give orders.

“Ja, Chloe, I’m alright. Are you at camp?”

“Almost. Where are you?”

“Half mile south of the canyon, heading your way. Had to take out some trash.” She jokes. Chloe lets out a loud breath, either in frustration or relief.

Nadine treks across the desert, eyes still peeled. Chloe and Sam are at camp, but they’re both heavily armed now. Chloe brought her own handgun, but since these unknown assailants had been so kind as to provide rifles she had happily indulged. So had Sam. Nadine smiles at the sight of them.

“That was nice work, you two.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Sam says. “We probably don’t need you anymore, now that Chloe’s such a brute.”

Nadine snorts. “You had the element of surprise, thanks to me.”

“Thank you, Love.” Chloe says. And then, her brow creases. “But if you ever scare me like that again I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Nadine flushes, scolded. She’s also pleased that Chloe is concerned for her. She opts to change the subject.

“I sent their scout scurrying back. He went East.” Nadine says. Chloe frowns.

“Well, if they’re in the East, we might be in the clear. We’re headed south, across the canyon.”

“I don’t know that I want to risk it.” Nadine says, feeling wary. “I think we could split up, and Sam and I could scout each flank. We’ll have to leave the four by four and carry supplies.”

Sam nods along. Chloe is shaking her head.

“Have you never seen a horror movie, either of you? Never, ever split up.” She says. She looks accusingly at the two of them. “Or did you forget the last time we got separated?”

Sam cringes. Nadine swallows her embarrassment. That had been a blunder indeed, nearly costing them some time in a Russian prison cell.

“Right.” Nadine says, suddenly finding her idea unappealing. “Well, we’re on flat terrain. Hard to stage an ambush with only thin shrubbery and a few rocks. I guess we’ll be safe enough without flanking scouts.” And then, uneasily, she adds, “We’ll have to be careful when we set up camp. It’ll have to be somewhere we can see miles away, even in the dark.”

“Either that or it’ll have to have plenty of cover.” Sam states. Nadine nods in assent.

Chloe sighs, looking at the hot red sphere of the sun. It’s setting fast. They probably only have two or so hours of daylight left.

“We’ll move out in the morning, then, and head for the bridge.” She says. Nadine nods again, unloading camping gear. She only unloads two tents, and sees Sam grin out the corner of her eye. She glares at him.

“What?” She says, trying to sound defensive. The attempted sneak attack has left her on edge.

“You sharing with someone Nadine, or am I?” He goads. Apparently Sam is unsettled too. He can usually sense when she isn’t in the mood for teasing.

“Someone will have to keep watch.” She says flatly. “Or did you plan on getting all your beauty sleep? Because I can-“

“Hey!” Chloe says sharply. They both look at her, startled. Her arms are crossed. “You two knock it off or I’ll knock your damn heads together.” She threatens.

Nadine deflates. “Sorry.”

“Sorry, Chlo.” Sam mumbles.

“Let’s get something to eat.” The treasure hunter suggests lightly. Nadine and Sam both nod heartily at the idea. Empty stomachs help neither of them, Nadine thinks.

Chloe is a decent cook. This surprised Nadine at first. She’d figured Chloe lacked the attention span. Oddly, that seemed to work in her favor as she could tend multiple things at once. She’d bought meat and vegetables in the market on the outskirts of Cairo, wrapping them in tinfoil and keeping them in a double insulated cooler. Today was likely the last day the little packs would be fresh, so she piled all of them onto the coals. She managed a thin sort of gravy made of flour, broth, butter and curry powder. Nadine realized this was the last real food she’d have for the trip. After this it was all MREs.

Happily, the mercenary undid the duct tape on her pant legs and pried her boots off. She slunk into her and Chloe’s tent to peel off her sweaty shirt and change into a fresh one. She reapplied deodorant, too, after the smell of herself made her nose curl.

“Dinner’s ready.” Chloe calls. Nadine smiles when her partner hands her a plate laden with meat and vegetables. She holds it out when Chloe makes a questioning gesture at the pan of gravy.

“Danke.” She murmurs, eating contentedly. Sam hums in agreement. Chloe smiles, and Nadine suspects she enjoys caring for her companions. The thought stokes warmth in her belly to accompany her food. Of course Chloe likes caring for them, or else she wouldn’t. Chloe is too stubborn to do anything she doesn’t enjoy, especially at the behest of others. Nadine loves her so much it hurts.

They all eat in relative silence. Sam is oddly sullen, chewing a mouthful of meat slowly and staring at the ground in front of him.

“Y’alright mate?” Chloe says, catching the somber mood either before Nadine or at the same time. Sam shrugs.

“Tryna quit smoking.” He says flatly. Nadine quirks an eyebrow. He’d been puffing like a chimney all week. She cracks a smile before lightly trying to tease back.

“Trying to quit, or ran out?” She says it not mean spiritedly. An idea that maybe something else is wrong prickles at the back of her skull. Sam sighs.

“Alright, fine. I’m not trying to quit and I’m not out. Do you know what day it is, Chloe?”

“Uh. It’s July...nineteenth? I haven’t seen a calendar recently.” She goes to pick up her phone and check.

“It’s July eighteenth. Cassie’s birthday. She’s seven.”

“Oh.” Chloe says. Her expression darkens. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m sure you wanted to be there.”

Sam shrugs, standing and stretching. “There’ll be more birthdays. Each one just reminds me that I’m an old man.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Chloe hums in agreement. Nadine breaks her silence.

“Er, sorry Sam, for being nosy.”

“S’fine. I’ll take first watch. Get some rest.”

Nadine takes the gesture in stride and nods. Sam probably wants some time to brood alone. She crawls into the tent across from Chloe’s. The sun hasn’t gone down yet, and it’s still too hot to sleep side by side. She doesn’t want Chloe to be uncomfortable. She reclines on the slightly stale smelling bedroll and dozes.

All too soon, Sam’s kicking her boot.

“Hhm?” She mumbles, rubbing her eyes. She’s slept with her contacts in, like a moron.

“Your watch.” He says tiredly, lowering himself stiffly into Nadine’s vacated spot. She gives his shoulder a little squeeze.

“See you in the morning.” She murmurs, but he’s already asleep. She stands and trudges dejectedly to their makeshift watch post. She sits on top of the four by four and keeps her head on a swivel. There are soft, familiar footsteps behind her.

“Hey.” She says, not turning around.

“Hey.” Chloe says, coming to sit beside her. Nadine’s head lolls tiredly onto her shoulder. The treasure hunter kisses the top of her head.

“Can’t sleep?” Nadine asks.

“Not without you, it seems.” Chloe hums. Nadine flushes.

“Have you slept at all since Sam took watch?” She asks, concerned. Chloe chuckles.

“I took a power nap. I’ve been living off of those since I was sixteen.”

The statement brings an interesting thought to Nadine’s lips. “What were you like when you were sixteen?”

“Angry. And ambitious.” She says. She offers no further explanation but Nadine senses that she shouldn’t prod any further. Chloe (and more surprisingly, Sam) had been very considerate in not asking too many invasive questions. She’ll return the favor.

“What about you?” Chloe says.

Nadine mulls the thought over. She sighs. “A smaller, more robotic version of how I was when we met.”

Chloe physically cringes. So does Nadine. They’ve never discussed it before, but her stiff, cold demeanor has drastically changed as a direct result of the treasure hunter’s influence. She’s learned to enjoy her life, not just live it from one fight or one profit to the next. She feels indebted to Chloe, but also knows it’s not what her partner would want, so she keeps quiet about it.

“I like you, this way. You seem happy.” Chloe says. She’s quiet when she says it, like she’s worried she’ll offend Nadine. The mercenary smiles. She didn’t like the way things had been before, either. Offense is the furthest thing from her mind.

“I love you.” She blurts out again. The horror she feels is instant, but Chloe hugs her closer and it quells just as fast.

“Good.” Chloe says, with a smile on her lips. The moon catches her face and her blue-grey eyes seem to glow softly. She hasn’t said it back, and Nadine doubts she ever will.

At least, not out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a one shot sitting in my notes about tomb raider so if you want more gay treasure hunters hit me up


	11. Chapter 11

Chloe?” Nadine mumbles, sitting up with that adorable, sleepy, squinty-eyed look on her face. Chloe hums in acknowledgment, tearing off a chunk of stale bread and chewing slowly. They’d spent the night sleeping out in the open. The ground was too hard to stake the tents down. Too hard to sleep on too, if you ask her. She feels bloody horrible.

Chloe could swear she smells rain in the air. Nadine apparently does too, because she tips her head back and takes a deep inhale. Sam snores away on his bedroll, blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Chloe doesn’t want to disturb him but she also doesn’t want to waste daylight. Nadine stands and stretches, impressive physique popping and stretching for her partner to admire. The taller woman chews so hard she bites the inside of her cheek. She would happily eat the mercenary alive if they didn’t have their unfortunate tag along. 

_Soon_.  She thinks.  _ We’re almost to the book. _

After several deep draughts of water Nadine wipes her mouth with her bicep and hands the canteen to Chloe. She accepts, smiling her appreciation at her partner.

“Ready to get moving once he’s up?” Nadine asks, pulling on her boots and rinsing off her face and neck with lukewarm water from the bucket she’d hauled up from a nearby soak the previous afternoon.

Chloe nods, gesturing to her packed gear in the four by four. “We’ve got another cliff to climb today. The car’ll have to stay.”

“Are we coming back to it?” Nadine asks, slinging her pack into the bed with a sad look on her face.

“In a few days. And hopefully with the book.” Chloe confirms. Nadine sighs.

“We’ll have to carry our packs up the cliff side.” She says, sounding unenthused. Chloe shakes her head.

“Absolutely not. We’ll rig a pulley up at the top. I’ve put on some muscle, but not that much.” She teases, hands on hips.

“You...really have.” Nadine hums, running her hands up Chloe’s biceps. The treasure hunter practically purrs.

“I swear to _God_ if you two start making out I’m going home.” A groan echoes from across camp. Nadine steps away blushing, and Chloe glares at Sam. He’s laying on his back, face toward the sky, eyes still closed. She resists the urge to kick him in the foot for the intrusion and instead opts for an overly cheerful tone.

“Goooood morning. Sleep well?”

He groans again and sits up. His brow furrows, and he takes a deep inhale. “Smells like rain. Let’s get moving.”

“You guys hungry?” Chloe asks, digging through her pack. Nadine nods and Sam shakes his head in the negatory. He looks unwell.

“Sam?” Nadine asks, cocking her head. She sounds concerned. Chloe cracks her fingers with unease. If Sam isn’t feeling well they’ll have to turn around. He just shakes his head and scratches his stubble covered jaw.

“I’m fine. This heat’s just gettin’ to me.” He says, gulping down several mouthfuls of water. Nadine doesn’t look convinced. Chloe doesn’t _feel_ convinced.

“No way it’s worse than Panama.” Nadine says, skeptically. Chloe chomps on the inside of her cheek when Sam glares at her.

“Not much on this earth worse than Panama. It’s just so dry. And I think I’ve got an allergy to whatever those scrub bushes are.”

Nadine still looks miffed, but ultimately drops it. Chloe feels a nagging sense of worry. Sam had twitched and rolled around and groaned throughout the night. He has circles under his eyes and keeps on squinting like the light hurts him. They’ve only been traveling at dawn and dusk, breaking in the hottest hours of the day and trying to stay put through the night when visibility is low. He’s been looking hunched over and miserable in the backseat of the four-by-four for days now. She’s almost tempted to call it quits right then and there. If she kills him with heatstroke, Nathan is likely to kill her.

“Is there any more of that?” Nadine asks, gesturing at the remainder of the loaf in Chloe’s loose fist. The treasure hunter offers up what’s left of what she has without so much as a second thought. It only occurs to her once they’re on the road and the last of the crumbs have been dusted off of Nadine’s shirt that she’s a little bewildered with herself.

Who else, on this entire planet, would the intrinsically selfish Chloe Frazer just...hand her breakfast over to? 

_Nobody._ _Nobody else._

Chloe’s on the verge of a miraculous sort of breakthrough when she sees a glint on the hill up ahead. Her reverie is gone, the breaks are screeching, and Sam is jerking awake in the backseat just in time to duck. The three of them stumble out of the car and onto the dusty ground, cringing away from a sudden and violent hail of bullets.

“Where the hell did these guys come from?” Sam shouts over the noise, blind firing once or twice in the general direction of their aggressors. Nadine snarls, slamming in a magazine, laying on her belly, aiming and firing from under the four-by-four. Chloe hears a few distant shouts and howls and it gives her a grim sense of satisfaction.

“That’s what I get for not killing that bastard. You’d think a girl would learn.” Chloe grumbles. She aims around the fender of the car, carefully picking off whatever arms, legs, or heads she sees sticking around the cover of a rocky outcrop some 40 meters away. A bullet whistles by Chloe’s ear. Another ricochets from the ground and hits Sam in the neck, leaving a grazing wound just below his Adam’s apple. Nadine boldly reaches into the trunk and drags out one of the more heavy duty rifles. Chloe slaps a full clip into her .45 defender and aims over the hood, slamming lead into the helmet of a massive shotgunner. He stumbles, but doesn’t stop.

“Nadine! Need some of that fire power!” She says, getting a little nervous over the massive, lumbering fellow trudging toward them with a sawed off that looks like it’s from before Chloe was born. She aims the hefty G-MAL, waits, and takes the shot at the exposed juncture of his neck and shoulder. The massive man chugs on for a few more steps before staggering to his knees. A few more shouts and screams reach Chloe on the wind. She scrutinizes the bunch while they turn tail and haul ass across the dessert. Eventually they all disappear into nooks and valleys across the landscape where vehicles lay hidden by shrubs and jagged pillars of rock.

“Well.” Nadine puffs out, surfacing from behind the four-by-four to surveil the spread of territory before them. “That was considerably more well planned than their last attempt.”

Chloe nods slowly. “The idea probably came from higher up in the chain of command.”

“Hey guys!” Sam calls, having rolled over the massive, shotgun wielding, armor sporting, mountain of a man. He points down at the hasty emblem seemingly stenciled onto the kevlar chest plate with spray paint.

“Oh, you’re joking.” Chloe groans.

“You know these guys?” Nadine asks, checking out the shotgun for herself before sneering in disgust and chucking it back into the dust.

“I highly doubt that these guys are anything more than a self-branded cell of the real thing.” Chloe snarls, kicking the dead man’s helmet maybe a little too angrily. “If they were legitimate, we’d be dead.” 


	12. Chapter 12

Nadine sits on her bed with a groan, body aching and crackling. It’s difficult to not pick up her phone and give Chloe a ring, but she’s actively exercising her restraint.

Besides, Chloe is an hour behind. It’s still too early. She lays down, grimacing a little when the cold sheets stick to her sweaty back. Her apartment feels very empty. It’s too quiet. A few pieces of new furniture sit in her living room unassembled. Maybe she should put those together? It’s late at night for Sam, so she can’t call him either.

Has it really taken her such a short time to be so bad at being alone? _Eish,_ she needs to get ahold of herself.

The pain of failure is still fresh, of course. Sam had devolved into a horrible, rattling cough, and after three days of exploring the city, Chloe had thrown in the towel. The book wasn’t there.

They had, however, found more than enough trinkets and baubles to cover the trip expenses, and make the next few months planning another job very comfortable. It wasn’t the big break they were hoping for, and Nadine is far from satisfied, but she understands.

Sam had tossed around the idea of Nathan and his wife meeting them in Cairo and doing an episode of their show about Thinis. Nadine is unsure. She’s a little proud of being the one to find the city. She wants it to stay her and Chloe’s secret, for a while.

Ultimately she decides on a shower, trudging into the bathroom phone in hand and with sagging shoulders. She stands in front of the mirror while she waits for the water to get somewhere approaching warm. The marks on her neck and sternum from Chloe’s lips have faded to little shadows on her skin. Her heart aches.

She’s slumped against the shower wall, eventually, water cascading over her closed eyes. It’s been a long time since exhaustion has weighed on her like this. Usually she can sleep anywhere. Her phone vibrates on the bathroom counter. She steps out and reaches for it without hesitation, wiping her hands dry.

_“Hallo?”_ She breathes out, suddenly feeling pulled taught. Chloe doesn’t like to call. She likes to text. Is she being broken up with? Are they really together enough for Chloe to break up with her anyway?

“Hey, China.” A soft voice murmurs on the other end of the line.

“Hey, _liefie.”_ She hums back, more than a little relieved by the warmth in Chloe’s tone. Something seems just a little off, still. Her nerves persist, just a touch. “Are you alright?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just one of those headaches I get sometimes.” Chloe says, a little raspy.

“You should see a doctor.” Nadine tells her, sternly. Chloe scoffs.

“A doctor is just gonna shove some muscle relaxers my way and call it done.”

Nadine’s chest aches at the sound of bedsheets rustling in the background. She misses sharing a bed with Chloe. The warmth and safety of it. She hasn’t slept more than a couple hours since they separated nearly two weeks ago.

“I miss you.” She says plainly. 

Chloe exhales softly. Nadine tenses. Chloe has a way of sucking in and letting out a breath before tossing out something that throws Nadine way off. 

“About that. Can I fly you out to London, soon?”

“What?” Nadine splutters, a little startled. Chloe wants Nadine to stay with her?

“Well, we made more than a couple enemies in Egypt. I’d feel a lot safer if you were close to me. I can, uh, get you a hotel if you don’t want to stay with me? I only have one room.” She sounds... embarrassed? Nadine curses her lack of emotional intelligence. She can’t get in Chloe’s head the way Chloe gets in hers. Why would she be embarrassed?

“No, no, that’s fine Chloe. I’ll stay with you.” She says, more than a little hurriedly. “When should I pack?”

“The soonest flight from Johannesburg is tomorrow morning.”

_Eish, tomorrow?_ Her heart races. “That’s soon.” She chokes out, stating the obvious. Chloe laughs a little nervously.

“I thought that was a little ambitious. There’s another one two days from tomorrow. Does that work better?”

“No. Tomorrow’s fine.” Nadine says abruptly, toweling off her hair and starting to rush through her product routine.

“I-really?” Chloe says, sounding just as surprised as Nadine is in herself.

“Ja.” Nadine husks out, trying to clutch this sudden tidal wave of bravery.

“Well,” Chloe purrs, sounding pleased, “that’s that, then.”

“That’s that.” Nadine agrees.

“What’re you up to?” Chloe asks, suddenly. She seems better. A slight more spirited.

“Fixing my hair.” Nadine answers. “It’s a little hard keeping up with it in the field.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve been cutting my own for years, now.”

“Really? It doesn’t look it.” Nadine compliments her. She gets a husky chuckle in response.

“While I appreciate that, cutting off the bottom of a French braid once a year doesn’t really take much skill.”

“Is that all? It’s so soft.” Nadine is surprised. A memory flickers in her head of Chloe’s hair brushing her bare sternum and she shudders.

“I think so. I mean, I brush it and I use some absurdly expensive shea butter conditioner Claudia buys me, too.”

“Claudia?”

“My mum.” Chloe says stiffly.

_She’s finally let something slip._ Nadine thinks.

“Ah.” The South African says, catching a little zing of tension. She drops it as quickly as possible. It’s a luxury Chloe would afford her in a second. She’ll poke the subject in person, maybe. Potentially even meet this Claudia for herself. “What weatheram I packing for?”

“A little chilly. That light blue cardigan you got in Beirut would probably be nice.” Chloe answers quickly, grateful for Nadine’s change of pace.

“The one you got me, you mean.” Nadine teases.

“I can hardly help that you make such a cute dress up doll.” Chloe says back. Her voice is raspy again. Nadine can’t hide her concern.

“You sound tired, liefie.” It’s a near whisper. 

“I am.” Chloe croaks.

“Do you want to text me my flight information and get some sleep?” Nadine offers. 

“Will you...” there’s a soft intake of breath again, “will you talk to me for a while?”

_Oh._ Nadine realizes. _She’s lonely, too._

“Ja. Ja, I can do that.” She coughs awkwardly.

“What do you think you would have done if Shoreline were never in the picture?” The question catches her by surprise, but not in a bad way. It’s a good one, really. 

“I’ve been wondering that for myself,” Nadine admits, pulling the only two sweaters she has from her thrifted dresser and tucking them in her decrepit duffel bag. “I like to think I’d have been normal. Maybe a professor. Something I get to use my brain for.”

Chloe chuckles warmly. “You’d make a sexy professor. Especially with those glasses.”

Nadine coughs again. She can feel Chloe grinning from nearly ten thousand kilometers away. Still though, it’s good to just talk to her. She tucks a few pairs of jeans and her blue cardigan (untouched and still smelling faintly of sandalwood, like Chloe) in her bag.

“What about you? What would you do without your Archeological childhood?”

Chloe huffs. “Well, both of my parents are Archeologists, so I’m afraid I’ve been cheated.”

Fokken hell if I haven’t stumbled on an awkward subject twice in ten minutes.

She’s surprised when the older womancontinues of her own volition and with no prodding.

“Claudia teaches at Saint Andrews. She’s something of an expert in military history. I’d probably think she was brilliant, if she weren’t such a crusty old hag.” Chloe spits. Nadine is more than a little impressed. It takes a lot to goad Chloe’s temper. Obviously she’s been done a great disservice beyond expensive hair care products.

“I can put a hit out, if you like.” She offers lightly. Chloe cackles hoarsely in delight.

“No point. Once she found out her only daughter pillages old ruins for a living and likes women she wrote me out of the will.”

Nadine snorts. “That’s an issue for you too, then? Looks like neither of us is going home for the holidays.”

“We could always spend it with the Drakes. Sully makes a surprisingly inspiring New Years toast.” Chloe suggests wickedly. Nadine laughs in a way thatshe feels it in her belly. 

“That old man is so full of shit.” She says fondly. Chloe laughs too.

And then breaks down into a fit of wet sounding coughs. Nadine bristles with dread.

“Chloe.” She says, suddenly clutching the edge of her mattress.

“S’fine, China. Just a bit of allergies.”

“Doesn’t sound fine.” Nadine challenges.

“Say, I’m actually feeling pretty tuckered out. I just emailed you your flight information and your e-ticket. See you tomorrow night?”

Nadine rolls her eyes. Obviously she can only expect so much intimacy from her partner in one night. “Ja, Chloe. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”


End file.
